N. Park Survives In Overtime

March 03, 1985|By Bob Logan.

And now, for their next trick, all the North Park Vikings have to do is get past Wittenberg of Ohio, top-ranked Division III basketball team in the nation.

That task can`t be any tougher than it was to dispose of Wisconsin-Whitewater, the 1984 NCAA champs. The Warhawks put up a terrific struggle Saturday night before losing a heart-breaking 83-81 overtime decision in the Midwest Regional of the Division III tournament.

Even the partisan fans in North Park`s gym had to admire the way UW-W defended its crown right down to the last tick of the clock. Derrick Johnson, a 145-pound fireball, came off the visitors` bench and hit an incredible shot to tie it at 70-70 with three seconds left in regulation time. Although their scoring leader, Mark Linde, had fouled out seconds before Johnson`s dramatic basket, the Warhawks waged another war through the five-minute extra session.

They all but erased a seven-point deficit with 1:59 to go in overtime, falling short only because North Park`s John Kuehn sank two clutch free throws 24 seconds before the end. Johnson almost knotted it again with a suicide charge down the middle, but this time his jumper bounced off the rim while the final horn blared

``Too bad,`` said UW-W coach Dave Vander Muelen. ``We laid it all on the line in the second half. Derrick has given us that kind of spark before, and I thought there was contact on his last drive, but how do you tell?``

Everybody on the North Park side of the gym was too busy exhaling a gigantic sigh of relief to ponder the absence of a whistle on the final play. For the 17th consecutive time this season, the home- court advantage had held up for the Vikings, now 22-4, and they`ll get it again next Saturday.

Wittenberg (27-3) winner of the Great Lakes Regional, will be here then to test the Vikings in the Division III quarterfinals, with the survivor advancing to the Final Four March 15-16 in Grand Rapids, Mich. The Vikings will need a performance from Justyne Monegain, named outstanding player of the Midwest Regional, to match his game-high 29-point effort Saturday.

``At this stage of the tournament, all of the eight teams left are tough, but nobody could be any tougher than Whitewater was,`` said North Park coach Bosko Djurickovic. ``The quarterfinal sites are set well in advance, and we were fortunate to have it placed in our gym this time.``

Monegain, a senior from Proviso East in Maywood, sparked the Vikings to a 22-4 record by averaging over 20 points a game. With his game-high 22 points in the tournament opener, a 95-55 rout of Monmouth, Monegain ran his career total at North Park to 1,942.

The expected scoring duel between Monegain and Linde, UW-W`s mobile center, shaped up in a hurry when the title game began. Saturday. Because Monegain got the better of it, North Park gradually moved away to a 14-point lead and was in comman 43-31 at halftime.

Monegain opened the contest with a bull`s-eye jumper and reamined on target for the first 20 minutes. He made seven of eight shots from the floor, hitting both of his free throws to top the first-half scoring parade with 15 points.